US Air Force failed to properly assess impact of retiring some F-22 Raptor jets
The US Air Force is planning to retire its Block 20 tranche of F-22 Raptor interceptors without first documenting and presenting to Congress the full implications of its decision, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) cautioned in a new report.
Block 20 Raptors have not been upgraded with advanced air-to-ground attack capabilities, more advanced radar, improved cockpit displays and AIM-9X and AIM-12D missiles like the rest of the F-22 fleet, the report said.
Lockheed Martin, the aircraft's prime contractor, estimated that upgrades would cost at least $3.3 billion and take approximately 15 years to complete but did not provide supporting data either, according to the report.
📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt
The US Air Force is planning to retire its Block 20 tranche of F-22 Raptor interceptors without first documenting and presenting to Congress the full implications of its decision, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) cautioned in a new report.
"The US Air Force proposed to divest - [that is] retire - its F-22 Block 20 aircraft without fully documenting the implications," the report said. "Block 20s are used for training and aren't upgraded with the same capabilities as the rest of the fleet."
Block 20 Raptors have not been upgraded with advanced air-to-ground attack capabilities, more advanced radar, improved cockpit displays and AIM-9X and AIM-12D missiles like the rest of the F-22 fleet, the report said.
"In its proposal to Congress, the Air Force didn't note key details such as how to train without Block 20s or whether they should be upgraded instead of retired. Congress didn't have enough data to make a decision," the report added.
Lockheed Martin, the aircraft's prime contractor, estimated that upgrades would cost at least $3.3 billion and take approximately 15 years to complete but did not provide supporting data either, according to the report.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
🥴24😁16👍3🌚2🤔1
The US, if Trump becomes President, should resume nuclear weapons tests and return to producing isotopes to build them, Robert O'Brien, a former national security adviser to the ex-president, believes.
He claimed the US "should also resume production of uranium-235 and plutonium-239, the primary fissile isotopes of nuclear weapons," if Russia and China do not "engage in good-faith arms control talks".
📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt
"The US has to maintain technical and numerical superiority to the combined Chinese and Russian nuclear stockpiles. To do so, Washington must test new nuclear weapons for reliability and safety in the real world for the first time since 1992—not just by using computer models," O'Brien wrote in an op-ed for Foreign Affairs.
He claimed the US "should also resume production of uranium-235 and plutonium-239, the primary fissile isotopes of nuclear weapons," if Russia and China do not "engage in good-faith arms control talks".
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
💩46🤬13😁8👍2🌚2🔥1
On Israel, White House lives in ‘parallel reality’
On Tuesday, US special envoy Amos Hochstein said that Hamas needs to “just say yes and accept” the ceasefire deal outlined by US President Joe Biden nearly three weeks ago. Those comments are part of a trend among high-ranking US officials that Israel has accepted the ceasefire deal and only Hamas is preventing a pause in fighting.
Israel has refused to say if it will accept it and promised to keep fighting until Hamas is defeated. Israeli officials have also refused to confirm if the ceasefire deal presented by Biden was their creation, as US officials claim.
An estimate by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) said that they expect the war to continue until 2026 and that a full-scale war with Lebanon will begin in September.
On Tuesday, Hezbollah released drone footage of Haifa, highlighting critical Israeli military and civilian infrastructure, including weapon depots, military bases and sea and airports.
Haifa, about 17 miles (27km) from the closest Lebanese border, is Israel’s most active port. Its importance has increased since the Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement in Yemen successfully shut down the Port of Eilat through its blockade of Israel in the Red Sea.
More than 60,000 Israelis have been ordered to evacuate from communities near the border with Lebanon, and many of the towns have been virtually abandoned since October.
Hit the link to learn more
“[With] the statements from the White House officials, they seem to live in a parallel reality from everyone, including Israeli officials,” Esteban Carrillo, a Beirut-based journalist and the editor of The Cradle, told Sputnik’s Fault Lines.
On Tuesday, US special envoy Amos Hochstein said that Hamas needs to “just say yes and accept” the ceasefire deal outlined by US President Joe Biden nearly three weeks ago. Those comments are part of a trend among high-ranking US officials that Israel has accepted the ceasefire deal and only Hamas is preventing a pause in fighting.
Israel has refused to say if it will accept it and promised to keep fighting until Hamas is defeated. Israeli officials have also refused to confirm if the ceasefire deal presented by Biden was their creation, as US officials claim.
“Just today, a top Israeli negotiator told the Israeli media that there would be absolutely no room to negotiate any of the amendments that Hamas asked for in response to the ceasefire proposal,” Carrillo explained, adding that the negotiator said the war will continue after the Israeli assault on the southern city of Rafah is completed. “These are their words. This is not anybody putting words in their mouth.”
An estimate by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) said that they expect the war to continue until 2026 and that a full-scale war with Lebanon will begin in September.
On Tuesday, Hezbollah released drone footage of Haifa, highlighting critical Israeli military and civilian infrastructure, including weapon depots, military bases and sea and airports.
Haifa, about 17 miles (27km) from the closest Lebanese border, is Israel’s most active port. Its importance has increased since the Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement in Yemen successfully shut down the Port of Eilat through its blockade of Israel in the Red Sea.
More than 60,000 Israelis have been ordered to evacuate from communities near the border with Lebanon, and many of the towns have been virtually abandoned since October.
Hit the link to learn more
👍29😁8🤬3💩1👌1
Сourt in Russia's Vladivostok sentenced US soldier Gordon Black to 3 years and 9 months in penal colony for death threats and grand larceny, Sputnik correspondent reports
The prosecution was asking court to sentence Black to 4 years and 8 months in penal colony with a fine of $470, adding that the the victim filed a civil claim of 10,000 rubles.
Black's defense will appeal court's sentence.
In May, Russian authorities detained the US soldier on charges of criminal conduct until July 2 in Vladivostok. Police noted that the man was suspected of stealing 10,000 rubles from a woman he visited on April 10. Later in May, Black was charged with grand larceny, the press office of the Pervomaisky District Court of Vladivostok said.
The soldier was stationed in South Korea before entering Russia. The US Army has started an administrative probe into his travel.
📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt
The prosecution was asking court to sentence Black to 4 years and 8 months in penal colony with a fine of $470, adding that the the victim filed a civil claim of 10,000 rubles.
"The victim said that the stolen funds have not been reimbursed. [We ask] that the period of detention be credited as one day in the pre-trial detention center for two days in the penal colony," prosecution was stating.
Black's defense will appeal court's sentence.
In May, Russian authorities detained the US soldier on charges of criminal conduct until July 2 in Vladivostok. Police noted that the man was suspected of stealing 10,000 rubles from a woman he visited on April 10. Later in May, Black was charged with grand larceny, the press office of the Pervomaisky District Court of Vladivostok said.
The soldier was stationed in South Korea before entering Russia. The US Army has started an administrative probe into his travel.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
👍40❤10👎1😁1👌1
This media is not supported in your browser
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
Residents of the North Korean capital Pyongyang are greeting the Russian delegation along the roadside
The delegation is heading to Kim Il Sung Square, where the official welcoming ceremony for Russian President Vladimir Putin is about to begin.
📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt
The delegation is heading to Kim Il Sung Square, where the official welcoming ceremony for Russian President Vladimir Putin is about to begin.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
👍48🫡16❤14
This media is not supported in your browser
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
❤58👍16🫡5
Join the livestream here or follow the link to Sputnik's website
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
👍38❤15👌3
This media is not supported in your browser
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
After the welcoming ceremony, Putin and Kim Jong-un left for talks together in an open Mercedes
📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
❤55👌7👍4
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
👍46❤20
🇰🇵📹Balloons in air, flowers in hands - leaders of Russia and North Korea are welcomed in Pyongyang
📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
👍41❤25😁1
This media is not supported in your browser
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
The President of Russia and the leader of the DPRK, Kim Jong-un, have already begun negotiations as part of delegations.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
👍40❤20🫡3
Sputnik International
❗️For decades, Russia has been fighting imposed US imperialist policy, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt
"I am referring to our struggle against the hegemonic policy imposed for decades, the imperialist policy of the United States and satellites towards the Russian Federation," Putin said.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
👍41❤23
⚡️Putin announced "new fundamental document" that will form basis of relations between Russia and North Korea.
📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt
"Last year, as a result of your [ Kim Jong Un's] visit to Russia, we made significant progress in building our interstate relations. A new fundamental document has been prepared today, which will form the basis of our relations for the long term," the Russian president said.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
❤57👌11🫡6
Media is too big
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
Putin impressed by Pyongyang's transformation since 2000
📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt
"The changes in the appearance of Pyongyang are impressive, the changes that have occurred since my last visit in 2000. It's just noticeable," the Russian president said during the extended talks with Kim Jong-un.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
❤53👌8